09/08/2024 - In his third feature, the Swiss director dives into the abyss of an AI-generated world

(© Maria Linda Clericetti/Locarno Film Festival/Ti-Press)

Electric Child [+see also:
film review
interview: Simon Jaquemet
film profile] is the third feature by Swiss-based director Simon Jaquemet. The technological thriller about a young father who tries desperately to save his son has celebrated its world premiere on the Piazza Grande at the Locarno Film Festival. We talked to the director about his inspiration for the story and his personal view on artificial intelligence.

Cineuropa: Where did the idea for the film come from?
Simon Jaquemet: It's basically a very old idea because I was already interested in computer language and programming as a teenager. I spent a lot of time in the cyberworld, and I thought that I would make a computer thriller at some point. For a few years now, you could sense that a lot has been happening in the field of AI. The idea for the film became more concrete when my interest in technology merged with the fact that I was becoming a father. I thought about the fear that something could happen to my own children, and this, combined with the AI theme, became the starting point for the script.

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Can you describe in more detail what personal fears and expectations for the future were incorporated into the script?
When I was writing, my second son had just been born. I was in a similar situation to my protagonist for a few weeks. During a prenatal examination, it was feared that he might have a serious illness. That didn't turn out to be the case, but it was certainly an important inspiration for me.

How did you go about developing the main character?
In contrast to my earlier films, he is quite close to me. But, of course, I did a lot of research into the whole subject of computer science. I've learnt to program and have a pretty decent level of machine-learning programming under my belt. I've read a lot of papers and also studied well-known figures on the scene. Jason is a mixture of different people from the scene, like Vitalik Buterin, whom I spoke to on Zoom, and the people from OpenAI, whom I find quite fascinating.

How intensive was the research work, and how close to reality did you want to remain?
I don't like it when computer films are oversimplified. As a technology enthusiast, I often think, "That was too simple." That's why I tried to strike a balance for the film, so that people who know more can relate to it and people who know less can follow it. Of course, there is a level in the movie that contains a lot of technical terms that most people probably don't understand. But I also find it very exciting to be introduced to a world.

You used a survival game as the basis for this digital world. How did that come about?
It's actually very common for programs such as those for self-driving cars to be tested in computer-game worlds throughout the AI sector. I've also played quite a lot myself at times in my life. There was also a particular survival game that I played, and the world within that was the landscape in the digital world in the film. I wanted a tropical coastline and a forest, as I know it from Eastern Europe.

The cultural context of the characters is very international on one hand, but also unspecific on the other. They also speak English. What was important to you during development?
It came to be gradually, during the writing process. I didn't intend the film to be in English from the start, but I realised that people would speak English in most of the situations I described. I know that from my own experience. I myself live in a partnership where we speak English as a common language. The tech scene, including in Zurich, also uses English and is made up of many international people. So it therefore seemed natural to me. English also brings a certain coolness and distance that suit the subject.

The film remains ambivalent when it comes to taking sides for or against AI-developed programs.
The discussions at the moment are only black or white. Some people are totally against it, while others are big fans. That's why it was important to me not to do the same thing. At the same time, the movie is an attempt to be critical and warn people: "Be careful what gods we conjure up." I myself am divided. I don't fear the end of the world, but the consequences for our society will surely be dire if power is distributed unequally.